If you wanted to encourage good fortune to come your way it was once firmly believed on the east coast of America that to carry a small piece of oyster shell was all you needed to improve your prospects.

Eating oysters in most countries is still a luxury, but if you were fortunate to be able to eat some on August 5, known in the western hemisphere as St. James’s Day, then a long held belief told that you would never be without food again. This is a European belief but especially connected with Britain.